Santa came early, thanks to seven present and former members of the Pinkerton Academy Chorale.

Seven present and former members of Pinkerton Academy Chorale serenaded us between the main course (eggplant, cheesy broccoli, stir-fried veggies, mashed potatoes, and various cheeses) and dessert (cake).  And they were fantastic.   Thank you, fabulous singers, for bringing the holiday right to, and inside, our front door. 

Here they are, along with folks wearing their holiday sweaters.

Friends.

Green holiday sweater with kitty cat.

Green "Joy" sweater.

Red-sweatered ladies.

And the boy who won the cuddly snuffed puppy (free) "door prize."

We're opened and we're waiting for you with a winter wonderland!

Hey folks.  Elijah's Table is opened tomorrow and serving a hot delicious meal.  AND:  We have special surprises and treats in store.  One of our teen volunteers, aided by her volunteer sister, created a winter wonderland for each table.  And we are having music, a wonderful group of singers from Pinkerton Academy.  I am so very excited about this year's Christmaskah (or Chanukmas) meal.  Please, please, please join us.  The weather may be frightful, but our Elijah's Table community dinner will definitely be delightful!  

Can you believe how cute these Christmas kiss trees are?

This adorable snowman is wearing earmuffs! 

The giving artist and her giving sister.

My mouth is not so full that I cannot say, "Thanks."

Thanks to our volunteers (only some of whom are pictured here) and to our many customers who together made our Thanksgiving Day dinner the best one yet.  Regrettably, I forgot to take photos of the event:  of the guy who brought Dunkin Donut gift cards as door prizes, the polite and very handsome young men from Granite House who helped us clean up, the amazing assortment of home-made pies, the lovely (and yummy) table decorations assembled by West Running Brook students, and, in general, the whole wonderful gathering.  Thankfully, my mouth is not too full to express my deep thanks for the day.

Join us for a home-cooked meal on Thanksgiving Day!

We're doing the real deal:  turkey, potatoes, the "sides," and pie.  Please join us for great food and fellowship.

What people are saying: "Five Stars!"

What a night:  lots of people, tons of food (eggplant parm, mashed potatoes, cheesey broccoli, salad, dessert), halloween candy, and great fun.  People raved about the whole thing:  the meal, the door prizes, the entertainment, and the atmosphere.  I made these two videos that I submit to you, dear reader, as evidence of the wonderful time you will have at Elijah's Table.  Photos below. 

We at the synagogue next meet on December 18.  The Episcopal Church Elijah's Table dinner will be held on December 11.  In November, we will be participating in the Community Meals Network's annual Thanksgiving Day dinner on Thanksgiving Day (1-2:30 p.m.) at the Church of the Transfiguration, 1 Hood Road, Derry, NH 03087.  Please join us for great food and a heart-warming experience. 

Pretty blue sweaters.

The crew.

The crowd.

When you have friends, you can exhale.

It was a phenomenal evening, in so many ways.  On Friday, while drifting off to sleep, it occurred to me that I would be the only one at Elijah's Table this Sunday.  Just me and my spatulas.  I sat bolt upright.  One regular volunteer couple would be receiving an award for all of their community service work; another regular volunteer couple planned to support their friends at the award ceremony; and a third group of people had a family emergency.  I put out the equivalent of an APB, and a ton of wonderful volunteers showed up at our doorstep.  In addition, we had a record-breaking number of guests. (BTW, We also had a record-breaking number of cakes to give away.) Whitney Houston sure got it right:

"When you've got friends, to wish you well

You'll find your point when, you will exhale (yeah, yeah, say)

Shoop, shoop, shoop shoop be doop,

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop

Shoop, shoop, shoop be doop..."

Three angels.

NB:  Check it out:  The incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston.

Raise your hands for ice cream!

We bought Klondike bars for everyone.  And when I said, "Raise your hands if you want ice cream," almost everyone did.  But we also had healthy foods:  fresh tomatoes, green bean salad, egg salad, and more.  And folks were happy.  Who doesn't love an ice cream bar?

Raise your hands for ice cream.

We want ice cream, too!

We ate our healthy foods.  Really we did.

More healthy eating.  Really.

Volunteers want ice cream, too!

Doing two things at once.  This volunteer deserves two ice creams!

This fellow showed up just to help out!  How wonderful!

Bill and me take a selfie.

Salad Days

I may have used the expression "salad days" before in this blog.  The expression comes into my mind when I think of summer and our young and youthful participants so enthusiastically helping out.  This morning, I wondered why the phrase was popping into my mind, and looked it up on the internet. According to Wikipedia: "'Salad days' is a Shakespearean idiomatic expression used to refer to a youthful time, accompanied by the inexperience, enthusiasm, idealism, innocence, or indiscretion that one associates with a young person. More modern use, especially in the United States, refers to a heyday, a period when somebody was at the peak of their abilities—not necessarily in that person's youth."  So, it's a fair fit.  Some pictures from our wonderful July meal are set out below.  Please join us in August.   

Making lemonade.

Friends wearing matching pink shirts.

Frank!

Smiling girl.

Giving away salad.

Giving away salad, part 2.

Scenes from a summer meal.

We had a full crowd on Sunday.  And fresh food,  with cake and watermelon for dessert. 

Check out the cute little boy with a chocolate ice cream mustache.

Please join us in July!

The beginnings of spring?

We had a full house tonight, with quite a few new faces.  And so that makes today an especially good day.  Is it the good weather that has brought the new faces and, if so, does that mean we will continue to have new clients as the weather continues to warm?  I hope so.  The food, as usual, was wonderful, with several extra special veggie dishes prepared by volunteers, fresh orange slices, and some crazy good desserts.  Kids got ice cream.  P-L-E-A-S-E join us in June.

"Delicious" is what several clients said as they left, thanking us for a great meal.

New faces #1

New faces #2
(There's ice cream in their future.)

Noodle What?

We've officially switched to one of our summer menus:  noodle kugel.  This dish is as addictive as our eggplant parmesan.  We receive a lot of compliments and most people want seconds. I had an near Abbott-and-Costello moment tonight with one of our customers, that went something like this:

                            Guest:  Honey, what is this called?

                            Me:  Noodle kugel.

                            Guest:  Cooked noodles?

                            Me:  It's called noodle kugel.

                            Guest:  Noodle good what?

                            Me:  Kugel.  That's what it's called.   It's just a funny name.

So, I thought I would give some explanation.  First of all, "kugel" is pronounced "coo-gul."  It's a noodle casserole made with egg  noodles, and it can be sweet or savory, and maybe even both. Apparently, kugels were originally cooked in a round pan and were puffed up and round, so the dish was named "kugel," meaning "ball" in German.  Whatever, join us in May, when we'll be having that yummy noodle dish.

Below are some pics from the evening.  The lady on the bottom was the lucky recipient of our monthly free raffle.

The Klondike Series

Last week, I wandered down to the cafeteria at work and was thrilled to find some pretty good-looking vegetarian chili.  Our chili tonight was even better, and it was free.  We hope more people will discover us.  We are a wonderful source of healthy and delicious home-cooked food.  Tonight we had two kinds of home-made vegetarian chili, baked potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese, butter and sour cream, salad, hard-boiled eggs, and Klondike bars.  Please join us next month.  We'll have another great meal and we may have some music. 

Klondike bars and music: what a life!

I was away for the February Elijah's Table dinner at the synagogue, and it looks as though I missed a great time.  Live music and Klondike bars for dessert!  What could be better?  I dare say the young helpers, and the lovely teen volunteer who took these pictures for me.  Join us in March.  I'll be looking for you.

"You're a godsend."

Gosh, tonight was so busy that I failed to take more than just a handful of pictures.  Here are two that I like, of new and happy customers.

Don't let the empty table in the top picture fool you.  The folks pictured came early and the place was hopping by the start of the meal.  By the way, the salad and tangy green bean dish were especially delicious.  And, aside from the great dinner, we had a TON of desserts to give away.

As she was leaving, one of our regular customers said, "You're a godsend."  Funny, but that is how I feel about our customers and our volunteers.  You are all wonderful.